The use of solar technologies in the place of a conventional building materials. Architectural Solar is multi-functional in nature and occupies a space in the building design such that, if removed from that space, its absence will be distinct and noticeable.

La Seine Musicale, a world-class concert hall on a redeveloping island west of Paris, is a masterpiece of structural, acoustic, and mechanical engineering. Resembling a ship at sea, the concrete structure supports a glassy, egg-shaped auditorium flanked by a shimmering "sail" that moves with the sun, shading the globe and generating solar power.